New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, Probate and Miscellaneous Records - FamilySearch Historical Records: Difference between revisions

*Use the death date and estimated age to approximate a birth date.

*When looking for a person with a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which individual is correct. Use other information, such as place of birth, age, occupation, or names of family members, to determine which candidate is the correct person. If listed, a personal title may be a clue to property ownership or occupation, either of which might be noted in other records.

*Check for variants of given names, surnames, and place names. Transcription errors could occur in any handwritten record; also, it was not uncommon for an individual be listed under a nickname or an abbreviation of their name, especially in church records. See [[Abbreviations Found in Genealogy Records]] for examples of common abbreviations. Note that some women reverted to their maiden name when their husband died, and therefore could have probate records under their maiden name.